The mandatory keywords must work over MMS too

The requirementstatement

STOP, HELP and the rest of the mandatory keywords must be processed identically whether they arrive as SMS or MMS.

Severityseverity: HighHIGHRejected by at least one carrier or provider, and a common cause of failure at the rest.
When it bitesphase: After you are livepostFalls due once you are sending: STOP handling, quiet hours, suppression, record retention.
What is checkedobject: inbound handler, per protocol
Where it liveslayer: OperationalOPERATIONAL
How Ekas settles itdetectability: Post-submissionUNDETECTABLE_PRE_SUBMISSION; The subject does not exist yet at submission time: a reply window, an expiring PIN, a queue position. Reported with its deadline.
What the fix involvesfailureClass: Wait on someone elseTERMINAL_EXTERNAL; Needs an external system or a waiting period, such as IRS propagation, a vetting result, or a carrier queue.
Who requires itauthorities: CTIA
When it appliesapplicabilityText: Applies when `mmsEnabled` is true.

Why this rule existsrationale

A consumer replying to a picture message often replies as MMS without knowing it, and many platforms route the two protocols through different inbound handlers — one of which was built for keywords and one of which was built for media. The opt-out then works or does not depending on what the consumer was replying to, which is invisible to everybody until the complaint.

How to fix itremediation

Point both inbound paths at the same keyword handler rather than duplicating the logic, and test an opt-out sent as a reply to an MMS. Done when the same reply suppresses whether or not it carries an attachment.

A compliant exampleexample

Reply STOP to an MMS promotion → same handler, same suppression, same confirmation as an SMS reply.

Check this yourselfattestation

No tool can settle this one for you. Here is the check, and what wrong looks like.

Does replying STOP to one of your own MMS sends suppress the number?

1Send yourself an MMS from the programme and reply STOP to it.
2Confirm the same reply works with and without an attachment — many platforms route SMS and MMS through different inbound handlers.

What wrong looks like: The opt-out works or does not depending on what the consumer was replying to. That is invisible to everybody until the complaint.

Notesnotes

Two code paths, neither of them visible here. The user has to send the test themselves: reply STOP to one of their own MMS sends and confirm the number is suppressed.

Rules you will hit next

Other operational rules at the same severity. A registration is judged as a whole, not rule by rule.

OPS-034A programme in another language still owes the English keywordHighHIGH OPS-044Suppression is brand-wide, not per numberHighHIGH OPS-047A state may give you less time than the federal limitHighHIGH OPS-052Silence after a scope question revokes everythingHighHIGH OPS-053A STOP answering a scope question must not be answered with anotherHighHIGH OPS-054Revoking against an exempt message stops everything else tooHighHIGH

All operational rules

OPS-035 is one of 139 operational rules in the 915-rule 10DLC registry. Free to cite under CC BY 4.0.